Japan Restaurants
Push to Resume
U.S. Beef Imports

By

Ichiko Fuyuno Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Updated Jan. 22, 2004 12:01 a.m. ET

TOKYO -- When U.S. health and agricultural officials try to push Tokyo this week to resume buying American beef, they are likely to face tough resistance from the Japanese government. But they will also find vocal support from Japan's $117 billion restaurant industry.

Japan banned imports of U.S. beef last month after the discovery of a case of mad-cow disease, officially known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE, in a cow in Washington state. Japan, which is the U.S.'s top beef importer by value and which bought...